Eric Reed | Horse Racing Free Tips

Charles Roberts, a 29-year-old New Jersey native, rode his first two races at Belmont Park last week, finishing sixth with London Gold last Friday and second aboard Madame Rose at odds of 36-1 in the Saturday nightcap.

Roberts, a newcomer to the NYRA jockey colony who is represented by agent David Grace, will ride his first career stakes race Saturday at Belmont, where he is named aboard Kavod in the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne, a one-turn mile for juveniles.

Roberts got into racing through his uncle, a Monmouth Park patron who said he was the right size to become a jockey.

“My Uncle Bob would take me to Monmouth and Meadowlands as a kid. When I realized I was done growing, I decided to give it a shot,” Roberts said.

The rider said he studied for a time at Chris McCarron's North American Racing Academy in Kentucky before testing his talent at the track.

“I got my foot in the door with racing at the Academy and then I stayed in Lexington for a couple of years and galloped horses for Eric Reed and Kellyn Gorder. I would also freelance a bit at The Training Center in Lexington,” Roberts said.

Roberts started riding in June 2019 in Louisiana at Evangeline Downs and picked up his first win on July 6, 2019 aboard So Serious at Louisiana Downs. The up-and-coming rider said he knew right away that he wanted to be a jockey.

“I knew I liked it the first time I got on a horse,” Roberts said. “It was scary at first but also exciting.”

Roberts said he is looking forward to his first stakes experience Saturday aboard Kavod, who he breezed on September 25 through four furlongs in 48.19 on Big Sandy in company with 2-year-old colt Ready to March.

“I know there's some nice horses in the race but the way he worked, I have a lot of confidence in him,” Roberts said. “It doesn't even feel like real life. I haven't ridden a stakes race yet and now my first one is in a Grade 1 at Belmont.”

Roberts knows Saturday's assignment is a tall order with Kavod listed at 50-1 on the morning line, but he said he will ride to win.

“I know he likes the rail and hopefully he'll make a run,” Roberts said. “After working him, I really liked what I felt so I have a lot of confidence. I know he likes the surface here, so that will help.”

Heading into Friday's card, Roberts [115 pounds] sports a record of 618-56-65-75, including wins at Evangeline, Louisiana Downs, Delta Downs, Oaklawn Park, Arlington Park, and most recently at Hawthorne.

“I constantly try to better myself,” Roberts said. “Every race I ride, I look back at the replay and consider what I could have done better. I also watch the guys here who are already great and try to emulate them.”

Roberts has worked horses for a number of barns since arriving in New York, including for veteran New York trainer Carlos Martin.

“He's a young rider and comes with a good reputation. His agent is a good friend of ours that used to work for us many years ago,” Martin said. “He's been working horses for us the last week to 10 days since he arrived and he's just got a real good way about him. He's quiet on the horses and they seem to respond to him.

“He's stepping up to the big leagues but I think he deserves the opportunity,” Martin added. “We have him on a filly this Sunday [Positive Skew, Race 7] and he's working another one that he'll ride. He's an exciting young rider. It's a tough meet and one of the toughest jockey colonies in the world, but all he needs is an opportunity. I think he can ride, there's no question in my mind.”

Grace, who has previously represented Channing Hill and Mike Luzzi, said Roberts is willing to work hard to make the most of his opportunities.

“He's well-spoken and rides a good race,” Grace said. “This is a tough race tomorrow but anything can happen in a horse race.”

The post Jockey Charles Roberts Making Stakes Debut In G1 Champagne appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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On paper, it’s easy to dismiss Silver Maple (Creative Cause) in Friday’s fourth race at Keeneland. The 2-year-old cost just $5,000 at the sales and shows a string of slow workouts at Belterra Park and Mountaineer Park. But trainer Eric Reed says the filly can absolutely win the race, and right now Reed’s opinion is not to be dismissed.

Reed may not be as well known as some of the trainers he will face in the 5 1/2-furlong maiden, but no trainer is hotter. Silver Maple will be his first starter since he made history Wednesday night at Mountaineer Park. He not only won the first four races on the card, but all four of his horses appeared to have won by 10 lengths or more. While calling the fourth race, won by Irish Proud (Proud Citizen), track announcer Peter Berry said it was the first time in the track’s history that any trainer had won four races in a row.

“When you go in, you hope to win them all,” Reed said. “But I never dreamt that something like that could happen. I was especially worried about the fourth one. It was a three-horse field and the fourth one was 1-5. Usually, that’s the one that gets you beat.”

Reed also won races Tuesday at Indiana Grand and Sunday and Tuesday at Mountaineer.

Reed’s run Wednesday at Mountaineer is better than it looks in the charts. It began with Nomiraclesneeded (Union Rags) in the first, a maiden special weight. The filly won by 17 3/4 lengths. Mountain Melodies (Shackleford) won the second and the official chart lists her as winning by 1 3/4 lengths. Reviewing the race, that margin is clearly inaccurate as she was drawing off in the stretch and appeared to win by at least 10 lengths.

Marcie’s Candy (Sidney’s Candy) won the third, making it look easy with a 15-length win. Irish Proud won by 10 1/2 lengths. Jockey Keivan Serrano was aboard all four winners. Before he became a jockey, Serrano exercised horses in the morning at Belmont and then went to work at the Wendy’s across the street from the track.

“I won five races at Ellis Park once years ago, but never five in a row,” Reed said. “I’ve won three in a day here and there, but never thought I’d win the first four races anywhere, especially the way those horses ran.”

If Reed was the recipient of some good luck, he certainly deserved it. He’s not that far removed from a tragic fire in 2016 at his Mercury Equine Training Center in Lexington. The fire, believed to be started by lightning, killed 23 horses. Not only was it devastating emotionally, but Reed didn’t know how he was going to rebuild his business.

“It was by God’s grace that we survived that because I truly didn’t think we would,” he said.

Along with training his own string, Reed works with other trainers getting their babies ready for 2-year-old races. He said that after the fire many in the industry came forward to support him. He is especially grateful to Ken Ramsey, who, after the fire, gave him a number of 2-year-olds to prepare for their upcoming campaigns.

The National HBPA Foundation also stepped forward, setting up a fund for Reed and his wife, Kay. He said he received donations of hay and blankets from people he did not even know.

With income coming in, Reed was able to build a new barn and didn’t stay down long. Within a year he was he was back to training 75 horses. He made 219 starts in 2017 and won 37 races.

Although Reed is based in Kentucky and is running a horse Friday at Keeneland, you’re more likely to find him at lesser tracks, primarily Mountaineer, Mahoning Valley and Belterra. He knows what kind of horses he has and where they belong. Better to be 2-5 at Mountaineer than 25-1 at Keeneland and Churchill.

“It’s the type of horses we have,” he said. “The better horses go to the better tracks. A lot of my owners don’t want their horses to get claimed, so instead of running for $15,000 or $20,000 at Churchill, they will run in allowance races at Mountaineer and Belterra and run through their allowance conditions. We race wherever we think we can win.”

That he is running Silver Maple at Keeneland and not somewhere where the competition is easier is a sure sign that Reed believes the filly has some talent. She is owned by Kay Reed.

“It’s very possible that she will win,” he said. “She’s a pretty nice filly and is training really well going into this race.”

He has the filly Deep Space (Curlin) entered in a maiden race Friday at Belterra, but she will have to draw in off the also-eligible list. He will try to keep his streak at Mountaineer alive Sunday with Bungalow Flash (Flashback), who is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in a maiden special weight race.

When given a talented horse, Reed has known what to do with it. He won the GII Lexus Raven Run S. in 2009 at Keeneland in 2009 with Satan’s Quick Chick (Sky Mesa). In 2010, he finished second behind Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}) with Rinterval (Ire) (Desert Prince {Ire}) in the GI Clement Hirsch S., losing by just a neck.

Reed lists those accomplishments as two of the most memorable of his career, but he puts the four-win night at Mountaineer right up there with them. He is so proud of the accomplishment that he has asked the track photographer to put together a special collage of the four races and will hang it in his office.

“We’ve won some big races over the years, but I really think it’s a big deal to win all those races in a row and by so many lengths,” he said. “It was special.”

The post Trainer Reed Comes into Keeneland Off Historic Winning Night appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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